Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 - Only 2 months to go!

It's hard to believe, I know (and just a little bit scary), but two months today the DoubleTree Hilton in Ealing, West London, will be opening its doors to attendees from across the world visiting FIGHTING FANTASY FEST 2014. And you could be there too.

For those attending we have all of the following on offer:

6 Fighting Fantasy artists - including Russ Nicholson, John Blanche, Chris Achilleos, Malcolm Barter, Tony Hough and Leo Hartas.

3 Fighting Fantasy creators - Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone and Jonathan Green.

An extremely collectible goodie bag, including a Fighting Fantasy gamebook, a poster, a novel, a Tin Man Games download app code, and a ZAGOR THE WARLOCK miniature, only available to those FF fans attending FIGHTING FANTASY FEST and based on this piece of artwork by Russ Nicholson!

A talk on the early days of Fighting Fantasy by Steve and Ian, with special guest Philippa Dickinson, the editor who first worked on The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Arion Games running Advanced Fighting Fantasy sessions throughout the day.

Tin Man Games talking about and demonstrating their latest FF apps.

Inkle Studios talking about their Sorcery! apps.

Various others traders, offering books for sale, wargaming miniatures, dice and gaming equipment, and more!

The official book launch of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, written by Jonathan Green and supported by hundreds of FF fans through the Kickstarter crowd-funding website.

An exhibition of never-before-seen and highly-collectible items from FF's history.

An auction of rare Fighting Fantasy memorabilia from the vaults of the Warlocks of Firetop Mountain themselves.

And if all that wasn't enough you'll be able to have a drink with the creators of Fighting Fantasy at the Black Lobster Tavern, from Port Blacksand, City of Thieves, themed bar!

If you've not bought your ticket yet you can do so here. Please tell all your friends via social media and any other means at your disposal (such as telephone, email, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, sorcery...) and we'll look forward to seeing you in September!

YOU ARE THE HERO Fighting Fantasy Art Prints

If you pledged your support to the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter at the GHOUL reward level or above, then you will be receiving one print - or maybe more, depending on how much you pledged - of a piece of artwork by one of these fabulous Fighting Fantasy artists.

Russ Nicholson

Iain McCaig

Martin McKenna

Tony Hough

Iain's print is of the Dwarf Trialmaster from Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon.

Tony's print is of the still undead pirate captain Cinnabar from Bloobones.

However, Martin's and Russ's prints are going to of brand new artwork that is being commissioned for YOU ARE THE HERO, the definitive history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Martin's artwork will form the cover of the book, while Russ's illustration will be in his classic Fighting Fantasy style and will appear inside.

I realise that it's hard ordering a print you've never seen - even if you are a massive fan of Martin's or Russ's artwork - so the survey will give you the option of not deciding yet and once the artwork's done, you can make your choice then, at a later date.

So, backers, keep an eye on your email inboxes...

The Behemoth from Bloodbones

Ace artist Tony Hough's been at it with Photoshop again, this time colouring the Behemoth from my fourth Fighting Fantasy gamebook Bloodbones.

I always loved this particular image. I imagined this sea monster as looking like something drawn in the ocean of some Renaissance map of the world and Tony got the look spot on with his design - and the crow's nest and splintered mast stuck between the leviathan's teeth finished it off nicely.

You can see more of Tony's coloured Bloodbones images here, and don't forget you can buy his artbook Fragments here.

Behind the Scenes: Knights of Doom - the Celastrix

I was going through my old Fighting Fantasy files the other day and came across some of the notes for Knights of Doom, along with copies of some of Tony Hough's illustrations for the book.

Now, if you've not read this hard to get hold of FF adventure (Knights of Doom is the only one of my gamebooks that hasn't been re-printed by Wizard Books and is going for £35+ on Ebay) then you might not want to read on just yet.

WARNING - SPOILERS!

WARNING - SPOILERS!

WARNING - SPOILERS!

Still here? On your head be it then...

In the latter stages of the adventure you save the mythical Celastrix from a band of Beastmen. The Celastrix is a huge bird that glows with an ethereal light and its release is vital to your success in the mission, helping you in your quest to heal the land by ridding it of the foul influence of Chaos.

The Celastrix by Tony Hough

The Celastrix was directly inspired by the Caladrius of legend. It was an all-white bird that lived in the king's household. If it looked into the face of a sick man, this action predicted that the man would live. However, if the Caladrius looked away, the sick man was doomed to die of his illness. To cure the sick man, the Caladrius could look at hi, and draw the sickness into itself. The bird then flew towards the sun, where the disease was burned up and destroyed. The Caladrius was considered an unclean bird and as such must not be eaten.

Fragments - The Art of Tony Hough

Bloodbones and Knights of Doom illustrator extraordinaire Tony Hough has set up his own blog, mainly as a way of keeping fans up-dated more regularly with his current projects.

Over the last year or so, Tony has been getting to grips with Photoshop and the results are astounding. I particularly like this image of Mother Arachne.

To see more examples of Tony's work, follow this link to his blog. But be warned, some of the work on display there is not for the faint-hearted (or anyone under 15, probably).

Enjoy.

Bloodbones Redux

Now, don't get too excited. According to my dictionary, redux is an adjective meaning 'brought back' or 'restored' (from the Latin reducere, 'to bring back'). So let's just get one thing straight, Bloodbones isn't coming back... at least, not just yet... at least, not as far as I know... It's just a cool title for a blog post, okay?

However, some of the illustrations from the aforementioned Fighting Fantasy gamebook about voodoo pirates have recently been given a new lease of life by illustrator extraordinaire Tony Hough. Tony has sent me three images from the book that he has re-worked in Photoshop, painting over the original rotring pen illustrations.

I present them for you here, with Tony's kind permission, alongside the originals so you can really see the difference. I think you'll agree that together, they are an amazing piece of work.





I think my favourite has to be Ramatu the Witchdoctor. That said, I love the detailing on the Preying Mantis.

If you like what you see here, or you would like Tony to work for you, follow this link to his own website.

Meet the artist!

Tony Hough (artist on book Knights of Doom and Bloodbones) is holding an exhibition of his work called FRAGMENTS - The Art of Tony Hough at The Gateway Gallery, The Hat Factory Arts Centre in Luton, from Wednesday 18 February until Thursday 26 February.



This is a rare opportunity to see the dark fantasy art of a legendary Fighting Fantasy and Games Workshop artist. To find out more, click on the link above.